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Big head case resolved; Duck fans face felony

A pair of Oregon Duck fans face felony theft charges for ripping off an oversized mascot head of college football analyst Lee Corso during Saturday’s Civil War in Corvallis, state police said Monday.

One of the suspects — identified as Eugene resident August Michael Zane Cuneo — allegedly swiped the mascot head after spotting it inside a box next to an ESPN trailer on the Oregon State University campus, then hid it in some nearby bushes.

Cuneo’s alleged accomplice, Alexander Joseph Westerberg, 25, of Harrisburg, later arrived in a car that the pair used to transport the head to the Eugene area, authorities said.

Police on Monday cited Westerberg and Cuneo on charges of first-degree theft. Both will appear in Benton County Circuit Court on the charges, which are felonies because the value of the mascot head exceeds $1,000. In fact, ESPN officials cited the estimated value at $5,000.

The hunt for Corso’s head gained national attention on Sunday, when ESPN reporter Erin Andrews used her Twitter account to request that it be returned.

Corso was in Corvallis on Saturday as part of ESPN’s College GameDay crew, which broadcast from there prior to the nationally televised football game between the Ducks and Beavers. Corso is known for donning the head of a team’s mascot after making a pregame prediction that they’ll win.

On Sunday, the first clue emerged that a Ducks fan might have been responsible for the theft. A photo initially sent to Andrews that subsequently circulated on the Internet depicted someone in a green UO sweatshirt wearing the fake Corso head.

Investigators saw it but couldn’t initially say for certain that it wasn’t “a Beavers fan trying to throw us off,” Lanz said, a few hours before state trooper Orly Johnson cited Westerberg and Cuneo in the head case.

Authorities recovered the head earlier Monday after an OSU employee found it outside his Harris­burg area home, next to his car. Lanz said one of the suspects knew the employee and was aware that he worked at OSU.

Lanz said the suspects dropped off Corso’s head in Harrisburg after having “second thoughts” about the theft.

State police plan to return the head to ESPN. The network has used it in a commercial that features a Ducks mascot wearing it as he walks past Corso — who is talking on the phone while clad in the Ducks’ mascot head.